Training equipment for improving batting swing

ABSTRACT

A training equipment device is provided for developing and improving a batter&#39;s swing. The device comprises a base unit that supports a pair of resistance members that a batter strikes through with a swing of the bat. The resistance members are spaced apart a distance such that a first resistance member successively contacts a second resistance member as the batter follows through on the swing. The sounds produced from the resistance members being struck provide an auditory indication on the quality of the batter&#39;s swing. The training equipment device is capable of ready transport and can easily be moved and stored.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present non-provisional patent application claims priority benefitof an earlier-filed provisional patent application of the same title,Ser. No. 62/343,506, filed May 31, 2016. The identified earlier-filedapplication is hereby incorporated by reference into the presentapplication

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to training equipment for baseball andsoftball. More specifically, the invention relates to a device andmethod for developing and improving an athlete's batting swing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Baseball and softball are extremely popular sports and are widely playedthroughout the U.S. and even worldwide. Children are generallyintroduced to the sport at a young age. Like any activity, it isimportant for the participant to properly learn and develop thefundamentals and techniques of the sport. There are several aspects tolearn in order to play baseball/softball, including throwing andbatting. As one develops the necessary skills, it also enhances theplayer's enjoyment in playing the game. A coach's challenge is toproperly demonstrate good technique, but the player must have thediscipline to learn and apply proper technique to develop and maintaingood skills. Bad habits are easily learned, but sometimes difficult tounlearn.

One skill in baseball/softball that is particularly challenging isbatting. This activity requires hand-eye coordination, strength andspeed. However, proficiency in those traits still does not guaranteesuccess in batting. If a batter does not have good form and technique inswinging the bat, then even a high degree of athleticism may not beenough to achieve success at batting. A successful batter is able to putthe ball in play, and minimize pop flies, grounders and other easy outs.A player's satisfaction can come from hitting a single as well asknocking a home run. Therefore, it is desirable to develop one's battingskills.

The problem exists in providing means to train proper hitting techniquesto players. A coach has limited time to work with any particular playerto teach proper fundamentals, and cannot be around the player at alltimes to ensure that the proper techniques are followed. Therefore, abatter must typically spend time developing his/her batting skillsthrough self-practice. A batter's tee provides an opportunity forrepetitive hits, but does not provide critical feedback on the batter'sswing. A batter is not able to watch his own swing and form whilehitting from a tee, so bad habits can unknowingly creep in.

It would therefore be desirable to provide an apparatus that could serveas training equipment to help a batter develop proper hittingtechniques. It would be further desirable to provide an apparatus thathelps develop a powerful swing. It would be further desirable to providea training apparatus for developing proper hitting techniques whichprovides an audible signal that indicates that a proper batting swingwas made. It would be further desirable to provide a training apparatusthat is compact in size and readily transportable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a training device to assist batters indeveloping their swing by providing sensory feedback generated from theswing. An embodiment of the invention comprises a pair of spaced apartresistance members which the batter strikes with the bat. Bottomportions of the resistance members are retained in a base support whilethe upper portions of the resistance members are adapted to freely bendback and forth when force is applied to them. The resistance membersshould have sufficient rigidity such that they will stand upright in theabsence of a force applied against them. The resistance members arepreferably made of durable rubber to withstand repeated striking frombats.

The resistance members provide sensory feedback to the batter through aparticular set of sounds generated by the swing of the bat against theresistance members. The resistance members are spaced apart from eachother a sufficient distance, such as a few inches, whereby a top portionof the first member struck must move over a distance before engaging thesecond member. A batter will swing at the first resistance member tosimulate a swing at a pitch. The use of a ball is not necessary. Thestriking of the first member by the bat will naturally produce a sound(“smack”). By having an appropriate distance between the resistancemembers, an audible snapping noise can be independently produced whenthe first resistance member strikes the second resistance member withsufficient force. The audible snapping noise produced from the firstresistance member engaging the second resistance member provides a soundcue (“snap”) that indicates a good follow-through form swing by thebatter. That is, the batter will hear a “smack” when the bat hits thefirst resistance member, and then hear a second “snap” if the firstresistance member hits against the second resistance member with theproper velocity. A batter's swing that fails to produce the combined“smack-snap” sound indicates that insufficient follow-through is beingapplied by the batter on the swing.

An embodiment of the invention comprises a mobile apparatus to enablethe training device to be easily transported and employed in varioussettings. The mobile apparatus comprises a base member for receiving theresistance members in an upright position and spaced apart from eachother. The base member may itself be of a substantial weight to providestability and to keep the apparatus from tipping over when in use.Alternatively, the base member may be constructed to receive separateweights which when added give the apparatus the necessary stability.Water can be added to a compartment area in the base member to provideappropriate weight. The base member is provided with wheels tofacilitate moving the apparatus around. The mobile apparatus makes iteasy to transport the training device and to quickly set it up indifferent areas.

Another embodiment of the invention provides an attachment for a balltee so that the batter may practice hitting a ball. The resistancemembers can be moved out of position when the invention is placed inball-hitting mode with the ball tee.

These and other features of the present invention are described ingreater detail below in the section titled DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THEINVENTION.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The present invention is described herein with reference to thefollowing drawing figures, with greater emphasis being placed on clarityrather than scale:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the invention with the resistancemembers removed.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the invention with the resistancemembers removed and the ball hitting tee installed.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view in side elevation of the inventiontaken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7A-7E are a series of views showing a bat striking and followingthrough the resistance members of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the invention in transport.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings figures, an embodiment of the presentinvention is herein described, shown, and otherwise disclosed.

The training apparatus 10 is generally shown in FIGS. 1-3. It comprisesa base member 12 and resistance members 14. Base member 12 may havedimensions comprising 13 inches in width, 15 inches in length and aheight of 18 inches but can vary in any of those dimensions. Base member12 may be provided with internal compartments 16 as shown in FIG. 6 forreceiving materials to provide weight and stability. For example, thecompartments may be filled with concrete or replaceable weights.Alternatively, the compartments may be adapted to receive water forproviding weight. Base member 12 may be provided with a top lid 18 whichcan be opened or removed so that the weight material can be added. Drainplug 20 is provided as shown in FIG. 6 for removing water from basemember 12. An internal bladder can be provided for storing the water.The bladder can be removable for filling prior to placement in basemember 12.

To provide additional stability to withstand the lateral forcesdelivered by repeated bat swings, a series of lateral extending legelements 22 may be positioned at the bottom of base member 12 to engagethe ground and prevent the device from tipping over. Leg elements 22 maybe provided with holes 24 to receive pegs or stakes for securing intothe ground. For convenience in transport, leg elements 22 can be madepivotable so that they may be folded back against base member 12.Alternatively, leg elements 22 can be made to be removably attached tobase member 12. As a further alternative, leg elements 22 can comprise aweb material that can be made to be retractable within base member 12 sothat they can be pulled out when needed for use, and retracted back intobase member 12 during transport. As a further means for stability duringuse of the training device, the bottom of base member 12 may haveanti-skid material such as rubber to help prevent the unit from slidingaround during use.

Resistance members 14 comprise a pair of resistance members 30 and 32.The resistance members may be composed of hard durable rubber. Forexample, the rubber material may be reinforced with an integral wiremesh material such as that of which tires and conveyor belts arecomposed. Also, the resistance members may be comprised of silicone orpolycarbonate. The resistance members must have a certain stiffness sothat they will stand upright on their own, yet have a degree offlexibility so that the resistance members will bend when struck. Also,the resistance members must have resiliency so that they spring back toan upright position after they are struck. The resistance members can beselected of materials which can provide varying levels of resistance.That is, multiple sets of resistance members can be provided andswitched out on base member 12 to provide the desired level ofresistance.

The resistance members 14 are affixed to base member 12 such that theypresent a hitting area of preferably about 25 inches above the topsurface of base member 12. Preferably, resistance members 30 and 32 arespaced apart a sufficient distance such that the first resistance membermust bend over a distance before engaging the second resistance membersuch as shown in FIGS. 7A-7E. If the resistance members are positionedtoo closely to each other, then they will be more prone to move togetheras a unit when struck. A distance between the resistance members isnecessary so that an audible sound can be produced upon the firstresistance member striking the second resistance member. In other words,a first sound (“smack”) will be produced when the batter swings andstrikes against the first resistance member 30 as shown in FIG. 7B. Asthe batter follows through on his swing as shown in FIGS. 7C-7E, firstresistance member 30 will bend forward towards second resistance member32. When first resistance member 30 passes through the distance betweenthe resistance members it hits against second resistance member 32whereupon it will produce a second sound (“snap”). This combination ofaudible sounds (“smack-snap”) provides an indication to the batter thata swing of good follow-through (and thus good form) was made. If onlythe first “smack” sound is made but not the second “snap” sound, thenthat indicates that the batter did not swing with sufficientfollow-through. Thus, in the absence of a “smack-snap” sound, a batterwill be made aware that good swinging form was not made. Achieving the“smack-snap” sound also provides positive feedback to the batter thatthe placement of the bat during the swing was optimum. If the resistancemember was hit either too high or too low, the first resistance memberwould not strike against the second resistance member properly toproduce the sound.

The height of resistance members 30 and 32 can be adjusted as requiredto accommodate different heights of batters and also different swingpaths. Slots 50 and 52 receive resistance members 30 and 32,respectively, and retain them in an upright position. Locking pins 54align with apertures in resistance members 30 and 32 to retain them inplace in slots 50 and 52. A series of apertures (not shown) may beprovided along a bottom length of resistance members 30 and 32 so thatthe resistance members may be moved up or down in slots 50 and 52 toalign appropriate apertures with the locking pins to vary the height atwhich the resistance members are presented to the batter. Locking pins54 may be released for quick withdrawal of the resistance members frombase member 12.

Training apparatus 10 can be equipped with additional batting trainingelements. For example, base member 12 may be provided with a receptacle34 for removably receiving a batting tee post 36 as shown in FIGS. 1 and3. When the batting tee 36 is used, resistance members 30 and 32 can beremoved from base member 12.

Training apparatus 10 can be provided with additional training aids tohelp develop proper swing and batting technique. For example, retainingcollar 38 can be positioned on base member 12 to receive training stick40 as shown in FIG. 4 as a guide for the batter to help keep his “handsinside the ball” during his swing. Training stick 40 may be freely heldby a coach and used to point aspects to the batter while being safelyout of reach of the bat when swinging.

Wheel members 26 may be provided on base member 12 to provide mobilityto the apparatus. The axle 28 for wheel members 26 mounts to a rear endof base member 12 at an elevated height so that wheel members 26 avoidengagement with the ground when training apparatus 10 is in use. Totransport training apparatus 10, training stick 40 can be inserted intoreceptacle 34. Base member 12 can be tilted back onto wheel members 26as shown in FIG. 8 and can be guided using training stick 40 as ahandle.

The resistance members 14 are disposed on base member 12 such that aproper batting swing-through will produce a distinct audible sound uponbeing struck in succession by the batter. FIGS. 7A-7E show a successionof views of the resistance members being struck by a bat 42. In FIG. 7A,bat 42 is swung towards first resistance member 30. Upon being struck bybat 42, flexible resistance member 30 bends in the direction of theswing towards resistance member 32 as shown in FIGS. 7B-7C. The strikingof the bat against first resistance member 30 will naturally produce a“smack” sound. As the batter swings bat 42 with proper follow-through,it drives resistance member 30 into resistance member 32 as shown inFIGS. 7D-7E. An audible “snap” sound is produced as resistance member 30engages against resistance member 32 with an appropriate amount of powerand velocity, indicating a good swing. If the batter does not applyproper follow-through in her batting swing, resistance member 30 willnot engage resistance member 32 with significant power or velocity andwill not produce the particular “smack-snap” sound. Accordingly, if thebatter only hears the “smack” sound, but not the “snap” sound, he willknow that his batting swing did not have proper follow-through. When thebatter, however, hears the combined “smack-snap” sound, she can beconfident that her swing had appropriate velocity and power and was madewith good follow-through.

The training device of the present invention can also be used for otherbatting training exercises. For example, one of the resistance memberscan be removed from the base member such that a single resistance memberis presented to the batter to swing at. Use of the training device inthis format helps the batter to develop various muscles used in thebatting swing.

Although the invention has been disclosed with reference to variousparticular embodiments, it is understood that equivalents may beemployed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scopeof the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A training apparatus for use in practicing abatting swing, the apparatus comprising: a base member, and a pair ofresistance members, the resistance members being connected to the basemember such that the resistance members extend from the base member, afirst resistance member being spaced apart from a second resistancemember, the resistance members having flexibility whereby the firstresistance member engages the second resistance member when the firstresistance member is subjected to a force from a swung bat applied in adirection towards the second resistance member.
 2. The trainingapparatus of claim 1 in which the resistance members are comprised ofrubber.
 3. The training apparatus of claim 1 in which the resistancelevel of the resistance members can be varied.
 4. The training apparatusof claim 1 in which the resistance members are removable.
 5. Thetraining apparatus of claim 1 in which the base member has a compartmentfor receiving weight to provide stability to the training apparatus. 6.The training apparatus of claim 5 in which the weight comprises water.7. The training apparatus of claim 1 in which the base member is adaptedto receive a batting tee.
 8. The training apparatus of claim 1 in whicha height of the resistance members can be adjusted.
 9. A trainingapparatus for use in practicing a batting swing, the apparatuscomprising; a base member, and a pair of resistance members, the basemember having wheels, the resistance members being connected to the basemember such that the resistance members extend from the base member, afirst resistance member being spaced apart from a second resistancemember, the resistance members having flexibility whereby the firstresistance member engages the second resistance member when the firstresistance member is subjected to a force from a swung bat applied in adirection towards the second resistance member.
 10. The trainingapparatus of claim 9 in which the resistance members are comprised ofrubber.
 11. The training apparatus of claim 9 in which the resistancelevel of the resistance members can be varied.
 12. The trainingapparatus of claim 9 in which the resistance members are removable. 13.The training apparatus of claim 9 in which the base member has acompartment for receiving weight to provide stability to the trainingapparatus.
 14. The training apparatus of claim 13 in which the weightcomprises water.
 15. The training apparatus of claim 9 in which the basemember is adapted to receive a batting tee.
 16. The training apparatusof claim 9 in which a height of the resistance members can be adjusted.17. A method for practicing a batting swing technique, the methodcomprising steps of: providing a first flexible resistance membersupported on a base member, positioning the resistance member in abatting swing zone, placing the resistance member in alignment with adirection of a batting swing, positioning the resistance member toreceive an impact from the batting swing, determining a quality of thebatting swing from an effect produced by a striking of the resistancemember.
 18. The method for practicing a batting swing technique of claim17 in which a second flexible resistance member is supported on the basemember and spaced apart from the first resistance member in alignmentwith the direction of the batting swing such that the first resistancemember engages the second resistance member when the first resistancemember is struck by the batting swing, whereby the effect produced bythe striking of the second resistance member by the first resistancemember is an audible sound.